Reaction to the Golden State Warriors’ Christmas Day victory over Cleveland has affirmed a theory I’ve been developing as the NBA season hits the one-third pole. Perceptions of their greatness (or not) and validation of their 2015 championship (or not) depend largely on how much you’ve seen them play.
I’m referring to actually SEEING them play GAMES. I’m not talking about highlight packages and game stories.
Those of us who watch the team play on a regular basis see a gritty, defense-minded team that also has great offensive firepower. Those who see only highlight packages see the Phoenix Suns of the mid-2000s, running up and down the floor firing up 3-pointers.
That latter group, the ones who still believe that the Warriors would not have beaten the Spurs or Clippers last season, who think that the Cavs would have prevailed in the Finals had they not lost two starters, saw on Christmas Day a Warrior team which was held 25 points below its season average. They saw a team that, despite Cleveland shooting 31% from the floor and 16% from 3-point range, never led by more than 10 points and won by only six.
That signals vulnerability to those observers, and feeds the notion that the Warriors were unworthy champions six months ago and a scheduling fluke this season.
The other view, one espoused by those on the Warriors beat, saw a game in which the W’s were able to consistently make the plays they needed to make on both ends of the floor to get the win. They stopped LeBron James when they needed to (he airballed a 3-point attempt in the last minute), and Curry got through the Cavs’ vaunted defense for two layups in the last two minutes.
I thought it was very interesting that with just ten minutes to go in a very close game, Luke Walton felt comfortable with James Michael McAdoo, Ian Clark, Festus Ezeli, Shaun Livingston and Andrew Iguodala on the floor. No Curry, no Green, no Thompson. The Cavs were not able to exploit that lineup to close the gap.
Kyrie Irving makes a difference on offense, but can be exploited on defense. The same can be said for Kevin Love, who never found a rhythm in this game and looked terrible.
The Cavs came out of the game feeling that they played well, despite their loss. The Warriors came out saying they they didn’t play well, despite their victory, and I think both teams are correct.
The Warriors know as well as anyone that regular season success in the NBA guarantees nothing in the playoffs, and that they will need to grind out games like this to win another title. On Christmas Day they showed they can do that — without Harrison Barnes, with a banged-up Steph Curry, and without their head coach.
To this observer, the Warriors don’t need vindication for last season’s title. They beat the teams that beat the Spurs and Clippers. They beat the Cavaliers, who got a superhuman performance from Lebron James that he would not have had to deliver if Irving and Love had been present.
I understand, however, that not everyone sees it that way. You had to see that team play every game to understand how good it was, and the same is true this year.
It is not debatable that the Warriors’ schedule has been friendly. The Cavs are the best team they’ve played. They haven’t played the Hawks yet, nor have they played the Spurs, Thunder or Mavericks in the West. There are too many games to be played, with infinite possibilities regarding injuries, to predict exactly where this team will wind up, but I think they’re headed for that second championship.
Christmas Day was a small step on that journey.
